ABOUT
Brown and Caldwell

BC PAGES

Asset Management

Infrastructure Funding

Water Resources

WEB EXCLUSIVES

STAFF

Kellie Rotunno
Great Lakes Editor

Richard Hellmann
Water News Editor

Last week's edition

About this Newsletter

July 9, 2007

Sent daily to more than 27,000 readers nationwide…
and thousands more via our lineup of online ads
like the one above that appears on watertechonline.com

Latest postings:

• Kansas City, KS: Technical Sales Rep
• St. Paul, MN: Structural (Senior) Engineer
• St. Paul, MN: Supervising Electrical Engineer
• Naperville, IL: Water Consultant/Technical Sales

Want more? See all postings.

GREAT LAKES LINKS

Council of Great Lakes Governors

EPA

EPA Compliance and Enforcement

Great Lakes Commission des Grands Lacs

Great Lakes Information Network

Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association

Great Lakes Town Hall

Great Lakes Water Institute

NOAA

National/International News

—  Great Lakes

• Great Lakes water: Will there be enough and will it be clean?
  (Lake Forest News, 7/5) "You don't have to travel around the world to find challenging issues of water quantity and quality. They're right in your own back yard, whether you live in Mundelein or Wilmette. The Great Lakes are being depleted at a faster rate than they are naturally replenished, said Max Muller of Environment Illinois."
  
  
• Lawmakers: Stop spilling raw sewage in Great Lakes
  (WBBM Chicago, 7/5) "The dumping of raw sewage into the Great Lakes is what two Illinois congressmen want to stop — by quadrupling the fines that already exist for sewage dumping."
  
  
• What's black and white and has the Great Lakes seeing red?
  (Wall Street Journal, 7/5) "State Sen. Patty Birkholz was walking along the sugar-sand beach here on Lake Michigan recently when she picked up a handful of dime-size, black-and-white-striped shells clinging together at the edge of the water."
  
  
• Legislation aims to protect Great Lakes' water supply
  (Detroit Free Press, 7/3) "New bills proposed by state House Democrats would protect the Great Lakes’ water supply from the groundwater up, to make it harder to divert water to other states or countries."
  

• Great Lakes' history shows fears of low levels may not hold water
  (Detroit Free Press, 7/2) "From one view of history, the Great Lakes are near record lows, approaching the bottom-scraping frustration of the mid-1960s. But from another, longer view, the lakes are nearly as high as they've ever been, just a few feet below the high-water mark reached in the 1850s."
  

—  Water Supply

• Drinking bottled water affects our environment
  (Lake Forest News, 7/5) "How often does your day pass without seeing someone carrying around a bottle of drinking water? The Beverage Marketing Corporation reports U. S. bottled water sales increases of 60% since 2001. This year, Americans will drink some 30 billion single serving bottles of water."
  
  
• Kids told: Think before you drink bottled water
  (Scholastic News, 7/5) "Did you know that you could be harming the environment when you drink a bottle of water? It’s estimated that 30 billion single-serving bottles of water are gulped down each year in the United States. If you are like most people, you throw away that bottle when you're finished."
  
  
• Drought saps the Southeast, and its farmers
  (New York Times, 7/4) "Northern Alabama has become acre after acre of shriveled cornstalks, cracked red dirt for miles and days of unrelenting white heat. The region’s most severe drought in over a century has farmers here averting their gaze from a future that looks as bleak as their fields."
  
  
• China chemical spill halts water supply to 200,000
  (Reuters, 7/4) "Water supplies to 200,000 residents in eastern China have been halted after ammonia and azote leaked from a chemical plant into a river, the latest in a string of pollution incidents amid an industrial boom."
  
  
• AwwaRF funds $1.5M in research on public drinking water
  (Water World, 7/3) "The Awwa Research Foundation (AwwaRF), the largest nonprofit organization in the United States dedicated to research on drinking water, has announced that it is funding 10 new studies for $1.5 million in its Unsolicited Research Program."
  
  
• Texas begins desalinating sea water
  (Physorg.com, 7/2) "On a one-acre site alongside a string of shrimp boats docked on the Brownsville ship channel stands a $2.2 million assembly of pipes, sheds, and humming machinery — Texas' entree into global efforts to make sea water suitable to drink."
  
  
• Sediment threatening Kansas reservoirs
  (Associated Press, 6/29) "Western Kansas has some water supply problems, largely because of an underground aquifer that is being depleted faster than it can recharge."
  

—  Water Quality

• USGS reports on arsenic movement in groundwater
  (USGS, 7/5) "The most common source of arsenic contamination in ground water is the mobilization of naturally occurring arsenic on sediments. Given the right chemical conditions in the subsurface arsenic can dissolve into ground water used for drinking water."
  
  
• Bottled water an 'obsession'
  (Fast Company, 7/4) "The largest bottled-water factory in North America is located on the outskirts of Hollis, Maine. In the back of the plant stretches the staging area for finished product: 24 million bottles of Poland Spring water."
  
  
• Ontario warned of new chemicals in water
  (Toronto Globe & Mail, 7/3) "Ontario must do more to investigate whether potentially dangerous chemicals in the water supply coming from everyday shampoos, soaps and pharmaceuticals pose a threat to people's health and the ecosystem, the province's environmental commissioner says."
  
  
• St. Louis: Best-tasting tap water in the nation
  (Water Tech Online, 6/29) "The city of St. Louis has new bragging rights: It has the best-tasting city water in the nation. Hundreds of mayors from around the United States who attended the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 75th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles from June 22-26 were judges of the Best Tasting City Water in America."
  
  
• China to raise water quality standards
  (Reuters, 6/29) "China said it would raise drinking water standards and establish a national inspection network to monitor quality, in the wake of algae outbreaks that cut off water supplies to millions of people."
  
  
• NSF Standard 60 certification for Panton McLeod Americas
  (Water World, 6/28) "Drinking water treatment experts Panton McLeod Americas is celebrating after being awarded the coveted NSF Standard 60 certification."
  

—  Water Resources

• China environment chief warns pollution fueling unrest
  (Reuters, 7/5) "Chinese anger with worsening pollution is fueling increasing protests, the nation's top environmental official said, criticizing local governments who he said protected factories turning rivers into 'sticky glue.'"
  
  
• Everglades restoration cost balloons to $20 billion
  (St. Petersburg Times, 7/4) "Seven years after the giant Everglades restoration project began, some of its crucial elements are already six years behind schedule and the cost has ballooned to nearly $20-billion, according to the Government Accountability Office."
  
  
• Climate change blamed for missing lake in Chile
  (Science Daily, 7/4) "Scientists with Chile's Center of Scientific Studies have blamed climate change for the disappearance of a lake."
  
  
• EPA looking into reservoir collapse that unleashed flood in Missouri
  (Associated Press, 7/3) "Criminal investigators at the Environmental Protection Agency are looking into a 2005 reservoir collapse that flooded a state park, injuring the park superintendent and his family, documents show."
  
  
• Northern Canada ponds drying up
  (Associated Press, 7/3) "Ponds that have provided summertime water in the high arctic for thousands of years are drying up as global warming advances, Canadian researchers say."
  
  
• Chesapeake Bay watershed groups devise program for educators
  (Water World, 6/29) "While teachers across the state are enjoying their summer vacations, eight from Albemarle County are spending five days this week canoeing down the Rivanna, sampling its water quality and devising ways in which they can connect their students with the local watershed."
  
  
• Uganda: Lake Victoria is critically sick
  (Kampala Daily Monitor, 6/28) "Lake Victoria water levels may have increased in quantity due to the recent rains but the quality still remains a question to ponder. The quality of Lake Victoria recently came to the limelight when, on April 3, the Daily Monitor broke the story of a strange matter growing on Lake Victoria shores particularly at Kitubulu Bay in Entebbe."
  
  
• New disease threatens world's coral reefs
  (Asahi Shimbun, 6/28) "A new threat is surfacing that could destroy more coral reefs around the world. The disease, called "white syndrome," has been observed affecting coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia as well as reefs in Okinawa Prefecture."
  

—  Toxic Waste/Pollution

• EPA releases list of endocrine-disrupter candidates
  (ES&T, 7/5) "In mid-June, the U.S. EPA released its much-anticipated draft list of compounds to screen for endocrine disruption. The long-overdue list, which should have been completed in 1999, includes known and suspected endocrine disrupters, and all substances are pesticides selected because of their potential for human exposure and their high production volumes. The compounds were not chosen because they are suspected endocrine disrupters, EPA emphasized."
  
  
• Environmentalists promote pollution tracking
  (Water World, 7/5) "Highlighting their shared commitment to environmental progress in North America, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today joined his Mexican and Canadian counterparts to launch new collaborative environmental initiatives on green building and tracking pollution in North America."
  
  
• World Bank says pollution kills 460,000 Chinese a year
  (Reuters, 7/3) "About 460,000 Chinese die prematurely each year from breathing polluted air and drinking dirty water, according to a World Bank study."
  
  
• Mercury excess
  (Chemical & Engineering News, 7/2) "As Congress begins considering a ban on the export of elemental mercury, lawmakers now must address a looming issue: What will happen to tons of U.S. industrial quicksilver if overseas sales are halted?"
  

—  Global Warming

• Europe warns citizens: Adapt to climate change now
  (Reuters, 7/2) "European Union nations must adapt to climate change by using water more efficiently, adjusting crops and farming methods, and caring for elderly people vulnerable to heat, the EU executive said on Friday."
  
  
• Live Earth Concerts to deliver climate SOS
  (Reuters, 6/29) "Former Vice President Al Gore Thursday urged people worldwide to pressure their governments to cut global warming pollution by 90 percent in developed countries and by more than half worldwide by 2050."
  

—  Everything Else

• EPA's Go Green! Newsletter helps consumers make a difference
  (EPA, 7/2) "America is shifting to a 'green culture' where all 300 million citizens are embracing the fact that environmental responsibility is everyone's responsibility. To help, you can sign up to receive EPA's new consumer newsletter, GO GREEN!"
  
  
• The simple water can gets an update
  (Minneapolis Star Tribune, 7/1) "Ovation Science hopes gardeners and organic farmers will adopt its Enki oxygen-enhancing watering system, which, studies show, improves flower growth and yields of tomatoes and bell peppers."
  
  
• New AWWA president to focus on technology
  (AWWA, 7/1) "Nilaksh Kothari stepped into the role of AWWA president for 2007-2008 as the annual conference began winding down in Toronto, spelling out five priorities and displaying a wonderful sense of humor."
  
  
• Desertification a threat, according to UN report
  (Associated Press, 7/1) "Desertification represents one of the 'greatest environmental challenge of our times' and could set off mass migrations of people fleeing degraded homelands, a United Nations report warned Thursday."
  
  
• Reinventing Water and Wastewater Systems: Global Lessons for Improving Water Management
  (Water Tech Online, 7/1) "Reinventing Water and Wastewater Systems: Global Lessons for Improving Water Management is a constructive volume for civil engineers working in water and wastewater treatment, urban and regional planners, and environmental engineers, as well as government administrators overseeing infrastructure and water systems and financial institutions involved with underwriting major water improvement projects."

Illinois

—  Water Supply

• Conservation averts problem at Roanoke water plant
  (Bloomington Pantagraph, 7/5) "Potential problems with water conservation and building permits in Roanoke were averted in recent weeks, thanks to the cooperation of residents."
  
  
• Decatur dredging falls behind schedule; sources of water sought
  (Decatur Herald & Review, 7/5) "On a sunny June day in 2004, city leaders smashed bottles against the sides of the city's massive dredge equipment to kick off the $25 million project to improve Lake Decatur. Three years later, results of the dredging operation have fallen far short of expectations."
  
  
• Have your garden, and save water, too
  (Pioneer News, 7/5) "When it rains hard, droplets roll off David Husemoller and Peggy Wingo's driveway. And roof. And on the long stretches of lawn their two boys play on."
  
  
• Governor wants answers on water supply
  (Elgin Courier News, 7/3) "Gov. Rod Blagojevich last year signed an executive order that demands some answers by summer 2009 about the state's water supply."
  
  
• Does Fox River have limits on supply?
  (Elgin Courier News, 7/3) "The Fox River is not a source that will dry up, according to Elgin water superintendent Kyla Jacobsen. The river is replenished by runoff and rain water."
  

—  Water Resources

• New hope for Bridgeport waterway
  (Chicago Tribune, 7/5) "On a tour one October day in 1905, two boats carrying guests of a group called the Chicago River Improvement Association took a turn "from the more wholesome portions of the stream" on the approach to Bridgeport, according to a report of the cruise in the Tribune."
  
  
• Water funding bill clears hurdle
  (Quincy Herald Whig, 7/2) "A $300 million spending bill on water and energy funding that would provide money for several local river and lake projects was endorsed by the Senate Appropriations Committee last week."
  
  
• Wetlands project is 'like dialysis for water systems'
  (Minneapolis Star Tribune, 7/1) "As steam rises from flat fingers of water reflecting an iron-gray sky, Donald Hey climbs to the top of an observation tower to watch a flock of American white pelicans huddled among the reeds. These reclaimed wetlands along the Illinois River, a man-made vista of corn and soybeans a few years ago, are now home to marsh grass, rare butterflies and 70,000 waterfowl."
  
  
• Nicor to build rock wall to protect Fox
  (Elgin Courier News, 7/1) "About 1,400 tons of rock will be added to a stretch of downtown shoreline as part of a contamination cleanup project aimed at cordoning off the Fox River from soils at a former manufactured gas plant."
  
  
• As Chicago cleans up, blaming begins
  (Chicago Tribune, 7/1) "Soggy couches sat in a messy pile in an Avondale alley, dragged up from the basements of some of the 1,090 Chicago homes that flooded in a short but overwhelming downpour."

Indiana

—  Water Supply

• DNR task force creating sample water restrictions
  (Inside Indiana Business, 7/4) "A task force created by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources has written a sample ordinance that will provide counties and municipalities with ideas to enforce water restrictions during drought conditions."
  
  
• Eastern Indiana in 'moderate' drought, says weather index
  (Fort Wayne Business Weekly, 7/3) "Northeast Indiana plant life has been standing up well through the unusually hot, dry weather that has baked the area for more than a month — although do-it-yourself landscapers have started to see more setbacks than usual."

—  Water Resources

• North Side landfill runoff water leaks into Locust Creek
  (Evansville Courier-Press, 7/4) "A North Side pipe that carries runoff water from a landfill to the city sewer system leaked into Locust Creek that runs between two mobile home parks Tuesday night, but officials do not believe the problem poses a danger to residents."
  
  
• Public input sought on Clean Water Indiana Funding
  (Inside Indiana Business, 7/3) "The State Soil Conservation Board and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture -Division of Soil Conservation are asking for public input on the best use for Clean Water Indiana funds."
  
  
• Indianapolis: Downtown Canal mired in slime
  (Indianapolis Star, 7/2) "Graham Hudson has watched customers drop phones, car keys, even a wedding ring into the thick green algae in the Downtown Canal, never to be seen again. The growth is back this summer, and it's thicker than ever, according to some accounts."
  

—  Wastewater

• Statewide conference targets CAFOs
  (Richmond Palladium-Item, 7/4) "Citizens from 14 counties spoke at a recent statewide strategic planning meeting on how to restrict concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)."
  
  
• Flora hires Lafayette firm to do sewer system study
  (Carroll County Comet, 7/4) "Flora took the first step Monday night to solving its sewer system woes by agreeing to hire T-Bird Engineering & Surveying of Lafayette. Town council members had spent the past month going over four study proposals, all with different approaches on how to address the town's water infiltration problems."
  
  
• Lafayette rejects lone sewer tunnel bid
  (Lafayette Journal & Courier, 7/3) "The Lafayette Board of Works has rejected a bid for a planned downtown storm/wastewater tunnel project. The board voted today to reject Super Excavators' bid of $28,291,000, which was 'over $15 million more than the engineer's estimate,' said Brad Talley, the superintendent for Lafayette's water pollution control department."
  
  
• BP not required to build treatment plant in Whiting
  (Merrillville Post-Tribune, 7/1) "The Indiana Department of Environmental Management will not require BP Whiting to expand its wastewater treatment plant if it goes ahead with its proposed reconfiguration."
  
  
• IDEM plans action against dairy CAFO
  (Richmond Palladium-Item, 7/1) "The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has issued a notice of violation and a proposed agreed order to Union-Go Dairy stemming from a manure release into Sparrow Creek on April 3."
  

—  Hazardous Waste

• La Porte: 29 years after toxic blaze, industrialist has plans
  (La Porte County Herald Argus, 7/4) "It’s been 29 years since a devastating fire at Kingsbury Industrial Park created costly environmental and economic consequences. The explosive blaze caused the evacuation of nearly 3,000 people from their homes in eastern La Porte and a toxic catastrophe that has taken nearly three decades and $50 million to clean up."
  
  
• It's the polluters who are out of touch
  (Indianapolis Star, 6/30) OPINION: "Indiana residents love our national, state and city parks and forests and want them protected. We value living at expensive properties at Geist and in Brown County because of the pleasant surroundings provided by lakes and woods."

Michigan

—  Water

• Michigan looks to close loopholes in water diversion law
  (Grand Rapids Press, 7/4) "When a semi-load of Ice Mountain bottled water plummeted 50 feet from a highway overpass in downtown Grand Rapids in May, environmentalists took notice. The truck was headed from Big Rapids to Iowa — an example of Michigan water being legally "diverted" outside the Great Lakes."
  

—  Water Resources

• When it rains, it pours — into the Rocky River
  (Edwardsburg Argus, 7/5) OPINION: "Surprising as it may be, the majority of our water quality problems cannot be attributed to point source discharges from factories, paper mills, or wastewater plants. They can, however, be traced back to our neighborhoods, to our friends and family, and to you and me."
  
  
• Ready to take a dip? Beware of swimmer's itch
  (Detroit News, 7/4) "If you've been itching to take a dip in Michigan's lakes and rivers during the July Fourth holiday, be warned that you may continue to itch long after the water fun is over."
  
  
• Proposed laws to protect state water resources
  (Detroit Free Press, 7/3) "New laws proposed by state House Democrats would protect the Great Lakes' water supply from the groundwater up to make it harder to divert beyond its own drainage basin."
  
  
• Senate's approval of factory farm bills stinks
  (Traverse City Record Eagle, 7/2) OPINION: "They call them CAFOs, which stands for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. Those who support them say they are our best source of cheap and excellent meat. Those who oppose them say they are a threat to our water supply, a major environmental hazard and practice unspeakable cruelty to the animals confined there."
  
  
• Lake Huron beaches get clean ratings
  (Port Huron Times Herald, 7/2) "Blue Water Area swimmers should expect to splash into healthy, clean waters this summer, experts say. No local beaches are currently on the state's closure list, thanks largely to local geography."
  
  
• Warmer water, lower levels
  (Bay City Times, 7/1) "The water levels in Bay Port have dropped 4 feet since high times in 1986. Lake Huron, in its seasonal rise, is about 2 inches down from last year at this time, and about a foot above an all-time low from 1964. It's 19 inches below average for June."
  
  
• Cleaner Saginaw River watershed showing progress
  (Saginaw News, 7/1) "For 20 years, the Saginaw River and Bay have stood out as the most polluted spot in the Great Lakes. Officials, however, say the quality of the water has improved since the federal government designated the river and bay as an Area of Concern in 1987."

—  Wastewater

• Let’s pollute our water!
  (Detroit Metro Times, 7/1) COLUMN: "